In 2012, I was a guest speaker on ‘Rationalism in India’ in ‘Think Fest’ where I met this 84 years young man who looked almost like Charles Darwin.
He was none other than James “The Amazing Randi” who passed away on Oct 20, 2020 at 92.
I had knew him since I was a kid. To my surprise he said that he had read
my articles too. (We both wrote for same skeptic magazines)
In no time, we, two young men became good friends, “Call me ‘Randi’ my buddy” he told me with a Darwinian grin😊
In February 2006, Randi underwent coronary artery bypass surgery. Soon after that, Randi was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in June 2009. He had a series of tumors removed from his intestines. His body was bend to merely 4ft because of chemotherapy.
But that could not stop him. He was still travelling the whole world with his mission.
Debashis Rationalist (aka magician Dave) with James Amazing Randi
Randi was a leading magician and one of the greatest escape artists in history, famously escaping a straight-jacket while being suspended upside down in a helicopter over Niagara Falls. The Amazing Randi devoted the second part of his life, an entire career in its own right, to debunking mysticism and those who profit off of ignorance. He practiced the art of magic openly and with pride, and never shrouded his own miracles under a false guise of the supernatural. He famously debunked the claimed psychic Uri Geller, faith healers, and all who took advantage of the gullible for their own financial gain.
Debashis Rationalist (aka Magician Dave) with Amazing Randi
In his essay “Why I Deny Religion, How Silly and Fantastic It Is, and Why I’m a Dedicated and Vociferous Bright”, Randi, who identifies himself as an atheist, opined that many accounts in religious texts, including the virgin birth, the miracles of Jesus Christ, and the parting of the Red Sea by Moses, are not believable. Randi refers to the Virgin Mary as being “impregnated by a ghost of some sort, and as a result produced a son who could walk on water, raise the dead, turn water into wine, and multiply loaves of bread and fishes” and questions how Adam and Eve “could have two sons, one of whom killed the other, and yet managed to populate the Earth without committing incest”. He wrote that, compared to the Bible, “The Wizard of Oz is more believable. And much more fun.”
Clarifying his view of atheism, Randi wrote “I’ve said it before: there are two sorts of atheists. One sort claims that there is no deity, the other claims that there is no evidence that proves the existence of a deity; I belong to the latter group, because if I were to claim that no god exists, I would have to produce evidence to establish that claim, and I cannot. Religious persons have by far the easier position; they say they believe in a deity because that’s their preference, and they’ve read it in a book. That’s their right.
Debashis Rationalist (aka Magician Dave) with Amazing Randi
In An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural (1995), he examines various spiritual practices skeptically. Of the meditation techniques of Guru Maharaj Ji, he writes “Only the very naive were convinced that they had been let in on some sort of celestial secret.” In 2003, he was one of the signers of the Humanist Manifesto.
In a discussion with Kendrick Frazier at CSICon 2016, Randi stated “I think that a belief in a deity is … an unprovable claim … and a rather ridiculous claim. It is an easy way out to explain things to which we have no answer.” He then summarized his current concern with religious belief as follows:
A belief in a god is one of the most damaging things that infests humanity at this particular moment in history.
Amazing Randi, Debashis Rationalist (aka Magician Dave) and DJ Gothe
Randi often said “One day, I’m gonna die. That’s all there is to it. Hey, it’s too bad, but I’ve got to make room. I’m using a lot of oxygen and such—I think it’s good use of oxygen myself, but of course, I’m a little prejudiced on the matter.”
My heart is broken! A truly great man has left us. My dear friend, mentor.
Thank you, Randi, for helping us to protect ourselves from the very human desire to believe in the unbelievable.
We’ll miss you Randi. Be ‘Amazing’, forever in our Hearts.
RATIONALIST DEBASHIS 